Kristiansand wins exciting Jukola relay

Daniel Hubmann decided Jukola 2015 halfways through the last leg after a tight relay where the big three through the last years – Kristiansand, Halden and Kalevan Rasti – had the main roles.

Halden’s Magne Dæhlie started first on the last leg – 42 seconds ahead of Kristiansand’s Daniel Hubmann with TuMe’s Scott Fraser in third at 2:43 and Kalevan Rasti’s Thierry Gueorgiou in fourth at 3:55.

Halden was in the lead after the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th leg – and surely had the initiative in the relay before the last leg. Kristiansand had the series 24 – 4 – 2 – 2 – 2- 2 at the changeovers – mixing in the fight for the lead all the way. Kalevan Rasti had more trouble – and was 5:30 behind in 4th after the long night (3rd leg) where Philippe Adamski lost some time. They struggled at around 3-4 minutes behind until the last changeover.

The last leg

Daniel Hubmann started in an incredible tempo, and had nearly caught Halden’s Dæhlie at the first TV control after 2.5 km

Daniel Hubmann ran like a wild man when passing the TV control after 2.5 km at the last leg – now up with Halden #Jukola

— WorldofO Live (@WorldofOLive) June 14, 2015

Dæhlie continued to push with a small gap down to Hubmann, but then came the decision point at the forking at the 5th control. Here Dæhlie made the crucial mistake which decided the relay for Kristiansand.

Decision point #Jukola 2015: BIG mistake by Halden's Dæhlie, Kristiansand's Hubmann now alone in the lead pic.twitter.com/RuHe0ee6sn

— WorldofO.com (@worldofo) June 14, 2015

From there on it was all about Kristiansand in the front. With a gap of more than 2 minutes down to Halden and Kalevan Rasti chasing just behind Halden, it was clear that Daniel Hubmann had to do a mistake in order to lose the first Jukola victory since 2009.

2:48 down to Kalevan Rasti – Gueorgiou slowly getting closer, but really needs a Swiss mistake to win #GPS #Jukola pic.twitter.com/L4m5BrVIEx

— WorldofO Live (@WorldofOLive) June 14, 2015

Hubmann did his job – like he usually does – and took Kristiansand to victory ahead of Halden. A Norwegian double. Although Kristiansand is a very international team with only two Norwegian runners – and Halden has only one.

#Jukola winner Kristiansand is an international team: 2 x NOR, 3 x SUI, 1 x CZE, 1 x FIN pic.twitter.com/A1PvSLVLVm

— WorldofO Live (@WorldofOLive) June 14, 2015

Interviews

Results

• Final results